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Why No One Will Promote YOUR Product

Why No One Will Promote YOUR Product
Copyright 2008 by Willie Crawford

At a recent JV Alert Live Seminar, I interacted with
dozens of people with products that they were rolling
out or looking for joint venture partners for.

Some of these products were absolutely brilliant, and
something that the market was clamoring for, so I
knew that they “could” do well.

Other discussions that I had with product creators led
to me jotting down a few important considerations that
I'd like to share with you. These are reasons why you
may be having a hard time getting joint venture partners
to promote your products or projects.

I framed this in the form of what I "may" have been
thinking as some products/projects were explained to
me.

1) "Nice Box But What Does It Do (In plain English
please)?"

If you can't explain exactly what your product does,
in terms that your potential JV partners can understand,
then how do you expect them to explain it to their potential
customers. If your explanation confuses a potential
partner then it's certainly going to confuse potential
customers who don't have the benefit of asking you 100
questions about the product.

2) Is The Market Big Enough?

Most of your potential JV partners do limit how many
products they promote and how many promotions they send
to their clients. They want something that's going to
appeal to a large enough segment of their list.

They definitely DON'T want most of their subscribers asking,
"Why did you tell ME about this product?"

Properly structuring a promotion can be hard work, so
they want something that appeals to enough prospects to
make all of that work worthwhile.

3) That's A Commodity - What's The Hidden Benefit?

If your product is just a variation of something that
fifty people have already offered to the market over the
past three years, only with slight variations, what about
your version is different?

You need to frame that difference in terms of a benefit...
ideally a benefit that most of your competitors have
overlooked. Ted Nicholas teaches marketers to find the
hidden benefit. Point out the obvious benefits, but also
point out benefits of your product that are less obvious.

The strange thing is that even if your product is nearly
identical to a dozen others, if you DO point out hidden
benefits that potential customers really care about, then
your product is "different" and "exciting" in their minds.

If many of your potential JV partners just wanted to
promote a commodity, it would often make more sense for
them to develop their own. Inexpensive ghost writers and
programmers are everywhere. You need something that's
not just a commodity.

You also need a product that not too easily duplicated since,
unfortunately, if it’s easily duplicated, it usually will be!

4) Dimes Don't Excite Me!

All things being equal, a potential JV partner is going
to get more excited about a product that pays them several
hundred dollars per sale than they are about a product
that pays them only $20. It usually takes about the same
amount of "work" to sell either product, and often your JV
partners have dozens of their own lower-end products.

When you ask someone to promote an inexpensive lead
generator, most of your savvy potential partners see that
as you just asking them to build your list. Many will
politely decline.

5) What Makes You Think That The Market Wants It?

FAR too many brilliant people have trouble acknowledging
that just because they think that something is needed by
the market doesn't mean that anyone will buy it.

People don't buy what they need. They don't generally
buy prevention! They buy things that they want. They
buy relief from pain. They buy pleasure. They buy safety
... if they feel really threatened.

If you offer the market anything other than something
they are already screaming for, and already buying from
your competitors in massive quantities, then you face
an uphill battle.

Your potential JV partners don't like selling items
that the market is not already convinced that it wants
... at least not the successful ones. Experience has
taught them that when they promote things that they
have to educate the market about, it's a losing battle.

6) Nice... But Here's What I'm Working On!

In many niches, like "Internet marketing," most of your
ideal joint venture partners have projects of their own
that they are looking for help in promoting.

When you approach a potential JV partner who has his
OWN launch in a week, they simply don't hear you when
you're talking about your “new blue widget.” If anything,
they're looking to see how the two projects might
dove-tail.

In a seminar environment, or even on a discussion
forum, it's usually better to introduce yourself, and
then ask what the other person is working on. Look for
ways to help them, and in the process invoke the law
of reciprocity.

You might also discover a more profitable project that
you should be involved in than your own. Don't get so
"married" to your project that you're unwilling to
recognize something that makes more sense for you to
invest your time and energy in.

At a minimum, be frank and suggest that you're willing
to swap promotions... provided their product is of very
high quality and a match for their market.

Pitching someone who has 100% of their attention on
their own project can best be done by talking about
their favorite topic... their project!

7) That's A Threat To My Project

Many products are direct competitor to others' products,
or counter-productive to their purpose. So, naturally
those people will NOT promote your product.

An extreme example would be asking someone who has
spent YEARS developing a list of big-ticket buyers,
who routinely buy $5000 packages, to promote your $27
ebook. That generally goes counter to the conditioning
of their list... and causes them to send out an
incongruent message.

Another example would be asking someone running a
membership site to market a product that negates the
need for their site. I have seen this happen :-)

I could list a dozen more reasons why potential joint
venture partners might decline to promote your project,
but that would make this "rant" too long.

Instead, let's end with the real message. When you
approach a potential joint venture partner, ask yourself
what's in it for them, and why they would want to
promote your product.

How will promoting your product help them, their customers,
and things that THEY care about. Be realistic enough to
realize that they don't generally lose sleep at night
over your project. Only you do, which makes getting the
message out about your product... your problem.

That problem goes away if you address the seven issues
listed above. Simple approach the whole topic from the
other person's perspective ;-)

-------------------

Willie Crawford is an internationally-acclaimed speaker,
author, seminar and radio show host, and leading Internet
marketing expert. When not out fishing in the Gulf of Mexico,
Willie can be found sharing his 11 1/2 years of online marketing
experience with members of The Internet Marketing Inner Circle.
Join them at: http://TheInternetMarketingInnerCircle.com

Re: Why No One Will Promote YOUR Product

What you're saying is so true. It's the essence of marketing when you're trying to "sell" a potential JV on the benefits of your shiny new product: it's not about the product, IT'S ABOUT THEM!

Tuning into WII-FM is the only way to generate sales! (WII-FM = What's In It For Me?) Just remember that the "Me" is always "Them" and not "You"! (Hard to do when you've been living, working, breathing, and believing whatever it is you've created and are now trying to pitch.)

I used to tell my students that the best sounding board they can ever have is someone who will tell them that their "baby" is ugly. (In this case, the "baby" is a product or project, but the analogy still holds.) In general, all babies look pretty much the same, but all parents believe that THEIR baby is the most wonderful, beautiful, fascinating, and entertaining baby, EVER. They believe this, even if their baby isn't really all that amazing from an objective point of view.

But most people, being polite, usually won't tell someone that their baby is ugly. And most parents really wouldn't believe it, even if they were told.

Your article, Willie, tells the plain truth. Hopefully all the newbies trotting their first "babies" out to market will take your words to heart and consider all the right ways to "pretty up" their darlings before introducing them to the world!

Re: Why No One Will Promote YOUR Product

Hi Willie!

I have never really introduced myself to you, but I am a "huge" follower of you right from WF to many social networking sites. I have seen your marketing and after going through any of the content that you post, I usually have just one word to say- "Marvellous"....

Thanks for this insightful article. I am sure we are all ready to learn from you!

Re: Why No One Will Promote YOUR Product

Hi Willie

Thanks for the post, informative. ive not been to any live seminars yet, but i am hoping to in the future, i have websites but i dont really have a product as of yet, im trying NOW to change what im reading to what im doing.